Rural mailbox signal and nameplate attachment



April 1953 D. P. MOSSMAN, SR 2, 36,669

RURAL MAILBOX SIGNAL AND NAMEPLATE ATTACHMENT Filed March 19, 1951 2 SHEETSSHEET l INVENTOR.

Donald P Mossman 32 BY 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 INVENTOR. Donald P Nassmcm 5]? W D P MOSSMAN, SR RURAL MAILBOX SIGNAL AND NAMEPLATE ATTACHMENT III! 5 2.0 M. 1 E 9 9, J l l h 8 o 4 m w W a 2 on d 4 P u A m Patented Apr. 28, 1953 RURAL MAILBOX SIGNAL AND NAMEPI J ATE ATTACHMENT Donald P. Massman s Juliet, 111 Appligation March 19, 1951, Serial No. 216,373 3 Claims, (Cl. 232-35) The present invention relates to improvements in a rural mail box attachment that is adapted to provide an improved signal for communications between the .box holder and the carrier and to provide a name plate. The present type of signal commonly used on mail boxes is difficult to see and is an inconvenience to the carrier as well as the box holder. The present location of the sig nal is not convenient for the carrier to restore it to horizontal position when he has picked up the mail in the box. The shape of the signal now used makes it difiicult to determine from a distance whether or not the signal is raised.

It is the purpose of the present invention to provide an attachment that can readily be applied to the standard mail box without special tools, the attachment furnishing a signal readily visible from all directions and a name plate that makes it convenient for the mounting of the names and changing them when necessary without resorting to painting up the sides of the mail boxes.

My invention also contemplates the provision of a signal carrying attachment for rural mail boxes which positions the signal so that it is automatically lowered to horizontal position, ll'ldl-r eating that. the mail has been picked up when ever the mail box door is opened.

Rural mail boxes are pretty well standardized as to construction and shape. They are elonkgated, round top metal boxes with a door at one end that is hinged at its lower edge so as to swing downwardly. A latch strap of spring material is provided. on the top of the box and projects for- Wardly over the door. The strap is raised before it reaches the forward edge of the box so as to provide the necessary spring action to cooperate with a handle strap on the door. My attachment takes advantage of the position of the large strap to aid in securing the attachment on the box so that it is not necessary to make any holes in the top of the box in order to mount the attachment. The attachment can be readily removed by the user of the box and taken with him in the event that he moves from one locality to another.

The nature and advantages of my invention will appear more fully from the following description and the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred form. of the invention is shown. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and description are illustrative only and are not intended to limit the invention except insofar as it is limited by the claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a rural mail box to which my attachment has been applied;

Figure 2 is a front face view of the mail box with my attachment applied thereto;

Figure 3 is a rear view of l the mail box and attaehment;

Figure 4 is a plan view of the mail box and at: tachment with the signal lowered;

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure l, but show.- ing the signal or flag of the mailbox in lowered position;

Figure 6 is a sectional ,iew taken on the line 8-6 of Figure 1; and

Figure 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line Iv-71. of Figure 1;"

Referring now in detail. to. the drawings, my ii'l-r vention is shown as applied to a standard mail box In which has a rounded topportion I l. A stands ard mail box has the front door [2 which is hinged at its lower edge asindicated at |3in Figures 1 and 2. door has a handle strap I4 secured on the facethereof. A latch strap I5 is secured to the top of the mail box and is ofiset upwardly a short distance. back from the front edge of the mail box as indicated atlt, in Figures 5 and 7 so as to'provide the necessary resilience or spring for releasably holding the. two ofiset portions H and It in the handle I4 and in he latch strap l5.

My improved attachment comprises abase 20 that is adapted to rest upon the top of the mail box and an upright substantially central rib 2| integral with the base. Therib 2| serves to provide means to mount a signal 22 and a means to mount name plates Ztf and lta. The construc: n of e b s 2 s lu t at d best b F ures 1, 3, 5 and 6;. It is of. inverted channel shape with two sideflanges 24 25 resting on the top of the mail box I 0. A depsnding flange 25 is provided at the rear end of the basalt to overlap with the rear end of the mail box. The flange 25 is equipped with asharp pointed screw 21 that be threaded intotight engagement with the rear end of the mail box, At the front end of the ase 29 h re is a .srqs flan e 28 ee u e 5) which is curved at its lower edge to rest on the mail box Ill. The front and rear flanges 28 and 2B are apertured to receive the legs 29 and 30 of a U-bolt. The base portion 3| of the U-bolt is adapted to fit under the latch strap 18 so as to hold the front end of the attachment down securely on the mail box. The legs 29 and 30 of the U-bolt extend under the base 20 and through the rear flange 26. They are threaded at their 'free ends to receive nuts 32 and 33. This construction makes it possible to attach a standard attachment to a variety of mail boxes by providing the necessary adjustment to take care of differences in distances between the rear end of the mail box and the raised portion of the latch strap 15.

The upstanding rib 21 has a forward extension 34 that is raised above the base 20 sufiicient- 1y to clear the latch strap 15. The extension 34 provides means for pivotally mounting the signal 22. The main portion .of the rib 2| provides two apertures to receive the name plates 23 and 23a. These name plates may be held in place by a frame 35 and screws 36 and 31. The upper name plate 23a is shown as shortened and the rib 2| has an offset so as to permit the signal 22 to lie horizontally in front of the upper name plate as illustrated in Figure 4.

My improved signal or flag is provided with four wings 38 which are arranged at right angles to each other so as to present a round signal when viewed from any direction. As shown, the signal is made of two sections 39 and 49, each section carrying two of the wings 38. The sections are secured together at the center of the wings by a bolt 41. The sections have ears 42 and 43 that are offset at right angles to the main portions of the sections and these ears are spaced from each other to provide a channel to receive the rib extension 34. A bolt 44 pivots the ears 42 and 43 on the extension 34. The extension 34 has a vertically elongated slot 45 therein for the bolt 44.

The two arm sections 39 and 40 of the signal have fingers 46 and 41 thereon and these fingers are extended beyond the arm sections to move down in front of the door 12 when the signal is raised to upright position as illustrated in Figure 1. It is evident that when the door I2 is pulled open, the fingers 46 and. 41 will transmit the door movement to the signal and cause the signal to swing into horizontal or lowered position. The fingers 46 and 41 and the pivot bolt 44 are offset with respect to the center of gravity of the signal so that when the signal is in up right position, it tends to remain there. The elongated opening 45 prevents any binding of the signal when the door is opened by permitting a certain amount of vertical movement of the bolt 44.

It is believed to be evident from the foregoing description that my improved attachment for rural mail boxes provides a simple and easily applied means to furnish a mail box with a better signal and a more convenient means for displaying the name of the mail box holder. The attachment is so constructed that it requires no modification of the standard mail box for mounting. It makes the work of the mail carrier easier since it is not necessary for him to even touch the flag when he is simply picking up mail that has been left in the box by-the box holder. It is only when the box holder or the mail man places mail in the box that it is necessary to bring the signal to upright position.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A signal and name plate attachment for rural mail boxes having a front door and a latch strap for the door, said attachment comprising a saddle member having a long narrow base adapted to rest on the top of a mail box and a name plate and signal supporting rib extending lengthwise of the base and projecting upwardly therefrom, said base having a depending apertured flange at one end adapted to overlap the rear end of the mail box and having means thereon for seating against the rear end of the mail box, the base having an end flange at the end opposite said depending flange apertured to receive a U-bolt, a U-bolt adapted to fit beneath the latch strap, and extended through the flanges of said base, and a signal pivoted on the end of said rib nearest the door of the mail box for movement between an upright position at the front of the box and a horizontal position over the rib.

2. A signal and name plate attachment for rural mail boxes having a front door and a latch strap for the door, said attachment comprising a saddle member having a long narrow base adapted to rest on the top of a mail box and a name plate and signal supporting rib extending lengthwise of the base and projecting upwardly therefrom, a depending member at the end of the base most remote from the door for engaging the rear wall of the box and a loop hooked under the latch strap and secured to the base for securing said base to the box, and a signal pivoted on the end of said rib nearest the door of the mail box for movement between an upright position at the front of the box and a horizontal position over the rib.

3. A signal and name plate attachment for rural mail boxes having a front door and a latch strap for the door, said attachment comprising a saddle member having a long narrow base adapted to rest on the top of a mail box and a name plate and signal supporting rib extending lengthwise of the base and projecting upwardly therefrom, means including a loop hooked under the latch strap and secured in said base for securing said base to the box, a signal pivoted on the end of said rib nearest the door of the mail box for movement between an upright position at the front of the box and a horizontal position over the rib, and a finger fixed to said signal and extending in front of the door when the signal is upright, to lower the signal upon opening of the door.

DONALD P. MOSSMAN, SR.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 773,110 Wichstrom Oct. 25, 1904 965,426 Welch July 26, 1910 1,366,323 Maserang Jan. 18, 1921 1,685,874 Feist Oct. 2, 1928 2,483,992 Young Oct. 4, 1949 

